Windows 7 Pro Laptop with GTX 1070 in 2018

Apr 13, 2017
4
0
510
Hey everyone. Is it possible in 2018 to get a laptop with GTX 1070, USB C Thunderbolt 3 and Windows 7 ????


1. What is your budget? Up to $2000 USD. Would consider higher in special circumstances.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15" or 17"

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1080p (want a sharper screen, but scaling doesn't work well with my older apps.) Want a sharp 1080p, not a low quality 1080p. Actually, my current monitor is 1200p. Wish I could get that again. But will take 1080p.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Portable, please. Tired of lugging my 10 lb Dell Precision M6500. It literally hurts to carry it. Like to go 6lbs or lighter, including power brick.

5. How much battery life do you need? 2 hours or more.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? No. I don't play games. But still want GTX 1070 (see below).

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) I run 3D CAD modelling software (Rhino, SolidWorks). I also do photo rendering - which is GPU intensive (hence wanting the GTX 1070). Open to an older equivalent, close to 1070 perfromance as possible. IF it can also be VR ready, that is a big plus (but not required). I will also be doing video editing. (Farily light, not feature length films or anything like that).

Or, if it had a Quadro card, but with TB3/USBC port for eGPU later.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 512 GB to 1TB is fine.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Open to any.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 2-3 years or more.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? None, I have an external one.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. #1 would be Apple. But they simply don't offer the hardware I need. Prefer: Dell. Don't like: HP, Lenovo

13. What country do you live in? USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Much prefer Windows 7 Pro. Also, I have thousands of dollars of older software purchases that run on Windows 7 and not Win10. (would cost thousands to "upgrade" to the version that run on Win10. With no other real benefit.

16GB RAM would be nice. But I've been using 8GB this far with no real problems.

I would love to have a Thunderbolt 3/USB C connection for eGPU later.
Or even a Thunderbolt 2 connection would work.
Need an SD card reader built in.

I looked but couldn't find.
Is it possible?

Thanks!



 
Solution
In general the answer is no.

Due to an agreement between Microsoft and Intel (AMD too), 7th and 8th generation Intel CPUs have circuitry that basically prevents anything but Windows 10 (or newer) to be installed... though there are ways around it from what I have read. Additionally, Microsoft no longer allows system builders (like Dell and HP) to install older Windows OS on desktops / laptops.



In general the answer is no.

Due to an agreement between Microsoft and Intel (AMD too), 7th and 8th generation Intel CPUs have circuitry that basically prevents anything but Windows 10 (or newer) to be installed... though there are ways around it from what I have read. Additionally, Microsoft no longer allows system builders (like Dell and HP) to install older Windows OS on desktops / laptops.



 
Solution
Apr 13, 2017
4
0
510


Mainly older versions of SolidWorks. 2012, 2014, 2015.
2015 SP5.0 is supposed to run on Win10, but I couldn't even get it to install.

Some clients have those older year SolidWorks. It costs thousands of dollars to "upgrade" to newer years releases, with few if any benefits. So many do not.
But if I open their file in say SolidWorks 2016 in Win10 and save it, they cannot open it again in their 2014 version.

Also Photoshop CS6 which I have works perfectly well on my Win7. On Win10 I'm not sure.

And overall, I just like Win7 far better, after using both for more than a year.
Maybe VM with Win7 on Win10 laptop is the way to go. Could I just use the Win7 license from my old laptop on the new laptop's VM (and throw that old laptop away)?
 

USAFRet

Illustrious
Moderator


Probably not. That Win 7 license for the old laptop is almost certainly an OEM license. And as such, tied to that original laptop system.
Unless it was a Win 7 Retail license that you bought and installed.
If it came with the laptop, no.
 
Apr 13, 2017
4
0
510



Yes, it came with the laptop. Ok, 3 new questions:
So how would I get a legitimate working copy of Win 7 Pro for the VM?
Does it need a full-fledged product key for the VM?

And is it possible to do a VM with Windows 10 laptop, instantly switching between Win7 and Win10 (by pressing Ctrl+Right Arrow, and Ctrl+Left Arrow or similar) like how you can quickly switch between MacOS and Windows in Parallels without rebooting if you're familiar with that?

 

USAFRet

Illustrious
Moderator


Yes, a VM needs its own valid license.
Switching? You actually run them at the same time. The VM guest is seen as just another application on the Win 10 host.

This is my system running 4x VM's, and the WIN 10 host, all simultaneously.
G7Ro10y.png

LinuxMint, Win 10, Win 10, WinServer2016, the hsot WIn 10 Pro.